Fastmarkets proposes to discontinue five of its precious metals prices to focus attention on our core markets. The prices being proposed for discontinuation are as follows:Platinum min 99.9% Europe Free Market $ per troy oz in warehousePalladium min 99.9% Europe Free Market $ per troy oz in warehouseRhodium min 99.9% Europe Free Market $ per troy oz in warehouseIridium ingot min 99.9% Europe Free...Read More
While nickel is in the spotlight, the rest of the base metals are still being pulled and pushed by the combination of higher tariffs on US imports of Chinese goods and China's plans to support its economy with further spending on infrastructure.Chinese manufacturing data also showed mixed results with the official purchasing managers index (PMI) falling to 49.5 from 49.7, while the Caixin manufact...Read More
Key data from the Friday August 30 pricing session in Shanghai and London. Key driversCobalt hydroxide payables rose in the second half of August following news that Glencore will close its copper-cobalt Muntanda mine by the end of this year.Demand increased when consumers intended to secure units before the hydroxide price...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices gained some strength on Monday September 2 amid rising iron ore futures.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,640-3,660 yuan ($509-511) per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tangshan): 3,630-3,640 yuan per tonne, up 20-30 yuan per tonneA pick-up in trading activity propped up prices in both Shanghai and Tangshan, trading sources said.The increases were larg...Read More
The price of rebar and wire rod exported from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) dropped in the week to Monday September 2, pressured by weak demand in the major sales outlets as well as in rival markets amid increased competition and slower projects realization.Falling scrap and billet costs were another negative factor affecting steel sales and prices in the global market.Recent wire r...Read More
The major Egyptian rebar producers have kept their rebar prices unchanged for orders to be placed in September, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday September 2.The country's biggest producer, Ezz Steel, is offering rebar at E ?11,890 ($718) per tonne ex-works, Beshay Steel is offering rebar at E ?11,830 per tonne ex-works and El-Marakby Steel's price is E ?11,580 per tonne ex-works. All thes...Read More
Import prices for rebar in Singapore continued to fall over the past week amid intensifying supply pressures.The weekly Fastmarkets price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) import, cfr Singapore - which mainly looks at cargoes sold into Singapore on a theoretical-weight basis - was $465-475 per tonne for the week to Monday September 2, widening downward by $10 per tonne from a week earli...Read More
The Turkish steel producers have started the week quietly, and have not booked any new deep-sea scrap cargoes despite a heavy drop in prices last week, sources said on Monday September 2.The markets have been silent since August 27, when prices dropped by $11.55 per tonne day on day on news of the latest trades.Since then, however, traders have stepped back...Read More
Domestic prices for auto bundle steel scrap and shipbreaking scrap in Turkey have decreased because of poor demand, sources said on Monday September 2.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap, auto bundle scrap, domestic, delivered Turkey, was TRY1,520-1,770 ($260-303) per tonne on September 2, widening downward from last week's TRY1,580-1,770 per tonne.A number of steel mills have dec...Read More
Physical iron ore prices surged on Monday September 2 on news that Chinese mills were likely to face 'looser' production restrictions in the September-October period.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.58 per tonne, up by $5.92 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines, cfr Qingdao: $90.97 per tonne, up by $5.93 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $87....Read More
The major Egyptian rebar producers have kept their rebar prices unchanged for orders to be placed in September, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday September 2.The country's biggest producer, Ezz Steel, is offering rebar at E ?11,890 ($718) per tonne ex-works, Beshay Steel is offering rebar at E ?11,830 per tonne ex-works and El-Marakby Steel's price is E ?11,580 per tonne ex-works. All thes...Read More
The CIS steel export billet market continued to weaken on the first trading day in September, amid a pessimistic mood in the global scrap market and limited demand in the major sales outlets.Given these conditions, a fresh booking was heard on Monday September 2 only after a significant price discount was provided by the selling mill.A 30,000-tonne cargo of Russia-origin material...Read More
China's domestic rebar market picked up amid rising futures on Monday September 2, but export prices dropped on expectations of higher production this month due to looser steelmaking restrictions in Tangshan. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,590-3,620 yuan ($501-505) per tonne, up 30-50 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,580-3,600 yuan per tonne, up 40 yuan per tonneRebar futures increa...Read More
The major Egyptian rebar producers have kept their rebar prices unchanged for orders to be placed in September, market sources told Fastmarkets on Monday September 2.The country's biggest producer, Ezz Steel, is offering rebar at E ?11,890 ($718) per tonne ex-works, Beshay Steel is offering rebar at E ?11,830 per tonne ex-works and El-Marakby Steel's price is E ?11,580 per tonne ex-works. All thes...Read More
Currency exchange rates can make or break a steel trade, and with forex volatility in emerging markets expected to continue for the rest of the year, the Asian ferrous markets are likely to see more price fluctuations before the end of 2019.These five currency pairs should be on your watch-list for the significant influences they could bring to bear on key global steel and ferrous scrap trade flow...Read More
The protracted economic battle between the United States and China will rewrite the rules of global trading and will not be resolved anytime soon, steel market sources in Asia told Fastmarkets."The world will wait and see who is able to gain the upper hand in the end and then follow the new rules of trading set by the winner," a major trader in China said.Market sources expect the entire ferrous s...Read More
The global market for direct-reduced (DR) iron pellets was under pressure from falling prices for both steel scrap and finished steel products in August, sources told Fastmarkets last week.Fastmarkets lowered its iron ore DR-grade pellet premium, Middle East reference, to $62 per tonne on Friday August 30, from $65 per tonne on July 31."A [DR pellet premium of] $62 per tonne is still 'in the ballp...Read More
Treatment charges for zinc and lead (TCs) rose in August with the arbitrage to bring material into China switching markedly to a negative value.TCs for lead concentrates in particular rose sharply, to levels not seen in the past two years. The arbitrage loss to bring refined lead into China hit 1,100-2,300 yuan ($154-321) per tonne at the end of the month, with the futures price rising on the Lond...Read More
A nationwide strike from South Africa's truck drivers will support prices for commodities based in the country, such as 37% manganese ore or UG2 chrome ore, but it would need to continue for more than a couple of weeks, market participants said.The strike began on September 2 in protest of the employment of foreign drivers, with some South African drivers accusing the foreign drivers of undercutti...Read More
The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange closed higher on Monday September 2, just above the $18,000 per tonne level, despite losing 4% of morning gains, while tin's outright price also failed to maintain upward momentum. Volumes traded in nickel topped the complex over the afternoon, with just under 15,000 lots changing hands by the close, while turnover in tin reached 900 lots b...Read More